Refrigerated tank



Jan. 15, 1935. F. 5. THWAITS REFRIGERATED TANK 2 Sheets-Sheet l Fild Feb. 4, 1933 Jan. 15, 1935. F. 5. THWAITS REFRIGERATED TANK Filed Feb. 4, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIWIIILHIH BL/ jai MMWM Patented Jan.15,1935 1,987,917

* UNITED STATES PATENT orricE REFRIGERATED TANK Frederick G. Thwaits, Wauwatosa, Wis assignor to The Heil 00., Milwaukee, Win, a corporation of Wisconsin Application February" 4, 1933, Serial No. 655,164

4 Claims. (01. 257-192) The present invention relates in general to Fig. 2 is a plan view of the tank with a portion improvements in the art of liquid storage, and of the coil compartment cover broken away; relates more specifically to improvements in the Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on line construction of refrigerated tanks for the stor- 3-3 of Fig. 1; V age of milk and like liquids. .Fig. 4 is an end view of the tank; 5

In dairies, milk stations and the like, relative Fig. 5 is an enlarged,fragmentary, detail secly large capacity cooling tanks are provided for tional view of an end portion of the coil showing the temporary storage of, milk. These tanks are a manifold and stufiing box; jacketed with a space between the jacket and Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a modified 10 the inner tank, through which space a refrigerform of cooling tank wherein the cooling medium 10 ating medium such as brine or ammonia is cirin the jacket is circulated by means of impellers, culated for the purpose of cooling the contents said view being taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 7; of the inner tank. It has been found, however, Fig." 7 is a fragmentary plan view of the conthat the circulated cooling medium, which construction of Fig. 6 with the cover for the coil tacts directly with the outer surface of the inhousing removed; 15

ner tank, reacts on the metal of the tank detri- Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of another modmentally, with the result that corrosion and ifled form of cooling tank wherein the coolin deterioration of the tank takes place, requiring medium in th J k i circ y m n f replacements, a centrifugal pump, said view being taken on It is, therefore, an object of the present inline 8-8 of Fig.9; and v 20 vention to overcome the above objection by pro- Fig. 9 is a fragmentary plan view of the conviding a cooling tank in which a heat transferstruction of Fig. 8 with the cover for the coil ring medium, which will not react detrimentally o i g removed.

I on the walls of the tank, is circulated in the While the invention has been shown and degs space between the tank and jacket and said mescribed herein as embodied in a tank oonstrucdium is in turn cooled by contact with cooling tion especially designed for the holding and coils in which the main refrigerating fluid is circooling of milk, it will be apparent that the imculated and is confined. proved refrigerated tank construction'is appli- A further object of the invention is to provide cable to the art of holding and cooling fluids in a refrigerated tank enclosing cooling coils and general. The illustrative disclosures should not, 30 arranged so that said coils may be readily retherefore, be considered as intentional limitamoved from the tank for repairs or replacetions in the scope of the present invention. merits. Referring now more particularly to the form Another object of the invention is to provide of the invention illustrated by Figs. 1 to 5 inclua refrigerated tank having a cooling coil chamsive of the drawings, it will appear that the inner 35 her with manifolds at opposite ends of the coil tank member 8, formed of a desired metal, is of and with the inlet and outlet ends of the coil cylindrical form. Said inner tank 8 is surextending through efiicient stufiing boxes. rounded by a jacket 9 formed of a suitable insu- Still another object of the invention is toprolating material, which jacket is spaced from the 4e vide a refrigerated tank which is of very simple tank to provide an annular fluid space 10. In 40 construction, is strong and durable, is efficient general, the jacket is of cylindrical form, but its in operation, is compact and accessible, and is upper portion, on one side of the central vertical well adapted for the purposes set forth. plane, is provided with an upwardly projecting These and other objects and advantages of longitudinally extending housing 11, open at its e present improvement w be pp t from upper end and normally closed by a cover 12 re- 45 the following detailed description. 7 movably clamped t position by b lt d A clear conception of One 10ml 01 the 1m winged nuts 13. The opposite ends of the jacket Proved refrigerated tank y be had y Tefefare closed byheads 14 and 15 and said heads i o the drawings p yin n f n also close the ends of the,.tank 8 as the same exa part of this specification in which like refertend t and are securedfftoinner portions of said 50 ence characters designate the same or similar heads, as will appear from Fig. 2 1 parts in the various views: 7 tions of the inner tank 8, inwardly Fig. 1 is a side view of the improved refriger- 14 and 15, are surrounded and engaged b anated tank with a portion thereof broken away nular flanges 16 which extend from inner surand in section to show details of construction; face portions of the jacket and close the ends of the fluid space 10. Adjacent the housing 11 said flanges are formed with enlargements 1'7 which form the ends of said housing.

The contents of the tank are cooled by a coil designated generally by the numeral 18 which is removably disposed within the coil compartment deflned by the housing 11. Said coil is elongated and includes hollow manifolds 19 and 20 at opposite ends between which parallel pipes 21 are extended, all of the pipes being connected to and opening at their ends into the manifolds 19 and 20. One of the manifolds, as 19, has its outer wall formed with spaced openings from which inlet and outlet stub pipes 22 and 23 project- Said stub pipes 22 and 23 project through the wall enlargement 17 and are surrounded, where the same pass through the wall, by removable stufling boxes 24, shown in detail in Fig. 5, and designed to prevent fluid leakage.

The outer ends of said stub pipes are threaded and elongated inlet and outlet pipes (not shown) are adapted to be connected thereto, said inlet and outlet pipes connecting with the high pressure and low pressure sides of a conventional refrigerating apparatus (not shown) which may be located wherever convenient, remote from the cooling tank. The entire coil structure is readily removable from its compartment. This is accomplished by detaching the inlet and outlet pipes from the stubs 22 and 23, releasing and detaching the nut portions of the stufling boxes, and then bodily moving the coil structure longitudinally to pull the stubs free of the openings in the wall 17, after which the coil may be lifted upwardly and out of the housing. Of course, the cover 12 is first removed for this purpose. When the coil is thus removed repairs or replacements may be easily made and this is desirable inasmuch as the refrigerating fluids normally used and circulated through the coil, such as brine or ammonia, in time deteriorate or corrode the metal.

Extending through the end head 15 into the tank 8 is a curved flller tube 25 which terminates adjacent the inner face of the head and is arranged and disposed so as to minimize the formation of foam during the introduction 'of liquid such as milk into the tank. Said head 15 is also provided with sight and light windows 26 and with a door controlled manhole 2'7 for access to the interior of the tank. A driven shaft 28 extends through a lower portion of said head and its inner end carries a propeller 29, which, when driven, circulates the milk for cooling purposes and also prevents separation of the cream from the milk. The shaft 28 is driven by an electric motor 30 conveniently mounted on a support 31, and the motor shaft is connected through a driving belt 32 with the shaft 28. A vent pipe 33 extends into the upper portion of the tank and the lower portion of the tank is provided with a valve controlled discharge or outlet 34. The entire tank structure is mounted on suitable supporting legs 35.

When the cooling tank is in use, there is disposed within the fluid space 10 a desired quantity of some suitable temperature responsive cooling fluid such as alcohol or glycerine and water. The fluid selected is of great importance inasmuch as the fluid is in direct contact with the metal of the tank 8 and it is, therefore, im portant to utilize a fluid which will not have an undue deteriorating effect upon the metal of the tank. While alcohol, or glycerine and water have been found to be satisfactory, it is not intended that the invention be limited to the use of these specified fluids in the-cooling space, as the specified fluids are merely illustrative. The tank is fllled, through the tube 25, with a liquid to be cooled such as milk, and the introduced liquid is agitated by the propeller 29. The refrigerating system (not shown) is set into operation and the refrigerating liquid, such as brine or ammonia, is circulated through the coil 18. A thermo-syphonic action will be set up whereby the cooling fluid in the space 10 will be circulated in the manner shown by the arrows in Fig. 3, passing over a baffle plate 36 and over and around the coil pipes 21, and then around the tank 8. The fluid in the space 10 is cooled by the ,coils l8, and this cooled fluid, circulating around the tank, cools the contents of the inner tank. As the outer jacket 9 is an insulating jacket, loss of refrigerating effect is minimized.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 6 and '7 the coil 18 is continuous and terminates in stufling boxes 24 having inlet and outlet stubs 22 and 23 respectively extending therefrom. In this form of the invention circulation of the cooling medium in the jacket space 10 is posi tively assured by virtue 'of the provision of driven impellers 37. These impellers are located in circular openings 38 provided in a longitudinally extending wall 39 within the confines of the coil housing 11 laterally of the coil 18. The impellers 37 are mounted on the ends of pulley shafts 40, which pulley shafts are connected by belts 41 and are driven by an electric motor 42.

A cooling medium, which will not affect the metal of the tank, is provided in the jacket space 10 and a refrigerating fluid is circulated through the coil 18. When the motor 42 is set into operation the impellers 37 are driven thereby and the fluid in the jacket is drawn and circulated in the manner indicated by the arrows in Fig. 6, being drawn through the openings 38 and forced over and around the coil, and after being cooled the fluid circulates around the inner tank to cool the contents thereof.

A further modification of the invention is illustrated by Figs. 8 and 9 of the drawings. This form of the invention also contemplates a forced circulation of the cooling medium in the jacket space 10. The interior of the coil housing 11 is divided by a longitudinally extending wall 39' on the inner side of the coil 18". .On one side of said wall there is a perforated, longitudinally extending suction tube 43, and on the other side of the wall, adjacent upper portions of the coil, there is a perforated, longitudinally extending discharge tube 44. Mounted on a support 45 exteriorly of the tank is a centrifugal pump 46 connected directly to* and driven by an electric motor 42'. An inlet or suction pipe 47 extends between an intermediate portion of the tube 43 and the intake side of the pump, while a discharge connection 48 extends between the discharge side of the pump and the discharge tube 44. When the pump is driven by means of the electric motor cooling fluid in the jacket space 10 is drawn into the perforated suction tube 43 and then through the pipe 47 into the pump. From the pump said fluid is forced through the connection 48 and into the discharge tube 44. The fluid is discharged through the perforations in said tube and circulates around the coil, with the path of circulation as indicated by arrows in Fig. 8.

From the foregoing description it will be obvious that the present invention provides a cooling tank which is jacketed for insulating purposes and wherein a cooling medium, which does not deteriorate the tank, is circulated in the jacket around the tank. This cooling medium is circulated around a coil which carries a conflned refrigerating medium and the first cooling medium is cooled by the coil. The coil is readily removable for repairs and replacements. The improved cooling tank is simple and compact in construction, and has proven highly efllcient and durable in commercial operation.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact details of construction and to the precise mode of operation herein shown and described, for various modifications within the scope of the claims may occur to persons skilled in the art.

What is claimed as the invention is:

l. A cooling tank for fluids, comprising an inner metallic tank, an insulating jacket surrounding the tank and closing the ends thereof and spaced from the sides of the tank to provide a fluid space, there being a non-corrosive fluid within said space, the jacket being formed with an enclosed upper offset providing a coil chamber, refrigerant containing coils removably disposed within said chamber, and means for circulating the fluid adjacent the coils and around the tank.

2. A cooling tank for fluids, comprising an inner metallic tank, an insulating Jacket surrounding the tank and closing the ends thereof and spaced from the sides of the tank to provide a fluid space, there being a heat responsive fluid within said space, and a refrigerator removably mounted within said jacket and in the direct path of circulation of the fluid.

3. A cooling tank for fluids, comprising an inner metallic tank, an insulating jacket surrounding the tank and closing the ends thereof and spaced from the sides oi. the tank to provide a fluid space, the jacket being formed with a coil chamber, refrigerant containing coils disposed within said chamber, and means for circulating a fluid adjacent the coils and around the tank.

4. A fluid cooling assemblage, comprising an inner tank, an outer jacket surrounding and spaced from said tank, means providing an elongated chamber communicating directly with the space between said Jacket and tank, and a refrigerator disposed within said chamber, said refrigerator including end manifolds, pipes extending between the manifolds, and inlet and outlet pipes extending from one manifold through a wall of the chamber, the refrigerator structure being detachable from the inlet and outlet pipes for bodily removal from the chamber.

. FREDERICK G. THWAITS. 

